The second in the series of public show of anger against galamsey declared by the media Coalition Against Galamsey, comes off on Friday, May 26, 2017 throughout the country.

Known as the National Red Friday, the day was declared by the coalition to demonstrate their anger against the illegal activities and thereby draw public attention and sensitise them to the government’s action to clamp down on galamsey activities throughout the country.

The maiden National Red Friday was held on April 21, with leading members of the media coalition taking the sensitisation drive to members of the public.

President’s assurance

During a meeting with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Flagstaff House on Friday, May 12, 2017, the President promised to also wear red on Friday in solidarity with the campaign by the media coalition.

The President further stated that the government’s relentless war against galamsey ought not be misconstrued as a xenophobic attack, stressing that no stone would be left unturned to weed out all faces behind the menace.

A leading crusader of the media war on galamsey and Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, commended President Akufo-Addo for the strong political will to tackle the menace head on.

He assured the President that the coalition would continue to wage war on the illegal miners until the last drop of water from the country’s major rivers were wholesome and the farmlands restored.

Media coalition

The Media Coalition Against Galamsey is made up of state-owned media, including the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), New Times Corporation (NTC) and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).

Other media outfits in the coalition are the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) as well as the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE).

Incessant fight

The Friday, May 26, 2017 edition of National Red Friday comes with renewed energy for the coalition to tighten the knot in fighting the menace, especially, in the face of the stunning revelation that the country lost $ 7 billion worth of gold to illegal mining in 2016.

The positive urge for the coalition and well-meaning Ghanaians to keep their feet on the accelerator, however, lies in the fact that remarkable progress has been made in clamping down on some of the notorious galamsey operators, including the Chinese galamsey queen, Aisha Huang.

It is expected that the President’s decision to put on red on the National Red Friday would be a major boost for the initiative and sustain the sensitisation drive.